Britain

via The State: BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND — A few years ago, the “Downton Abbey” Christmas special featured a ouija board that communicated a message from a dead character. American reviewers were extremely…

“A country cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war”. Albert Einstein The inevitable rise of a European army to rival those of other world super-powers appears on our collective horizon. The Telegraph…

Red Pepper explains the United Kingdom’s new “studio schools,” under which teenagers spend half their day performing menial jobs for corporate sponsors for little or no pay, with the (accurate) purpose being…

The previously mentioned U.K.-based activist squad The Intruders somehow got inside the Investment Banking Awards, where they realized that this year’s most noteworthy accomplishment had gone unmentioned:

The Investment Banking Awards are the Oscars of the financial world. Dished out for so-called ‘innovation’, some of the world’s richest bankers gather together to congratulate each other on devising ever more creative ways to make obscene sums of money.

One of 2012’s most profitable scams was the bankers’ ‘innovative’ approach to a key interest rate called LIBOR. Virtually every bank at the event was involved in illegally colluding to rig LIBOR, ensuring that they would always be the winners in the multi-million pound bets they were making on the markets.

When we noticed that this money-spinner had been overlooked in the ceremony, we decided to show up and make sure the LIBOR-riggers got the recognition they deserve.

The horrific testing, conducted in secret and dubbed Operation Cauldron, took place offshore on a ship near the Isle of Lewis. Over the course of several months, dozens of terrified monkeys and thousands of guinea pigs were subjected to “germ bombs” containing bubonic plague and other deadly diseases, with many of the animals dying after a few days.

The project was part of the U.K. military’s effort to develop biological weapons that could be used on real people in a potental war against the Soviets. Needless to say, the Ministry of Defence was reluctant to release the incredibly disturbing 47-minute film documenting the experiments:

Dave Hartnett is the former top official at the HMRC, the branch of the U.K. government that handles tax collection. His tenure has been marked by controversy over deals in which corporations such as Goldman Sachs and Vodafone may have been let off the hook for billions in unpaid back taxes. Thanks to a group of protesters called WeAreTheIntruders, events at the black tie dinner celebrating Hartnett’s service to the nation took an unexpected turn towards the surreal, culminating in a livid official’s threatening to release the hounds on the surprise attendees:

The BBC reports the latest in mysterious, slightly apocalyptic weather patterns: A husband and wife have been left puzzled after hundreds of tiny yellow plastic balls rained in their garden. Dylis Scott…

In an effort to counter the established media’s portrayal of events, Tatyana Alexandra talks to Hackney residents in a series of short, thought provoking interviews about last year’s riots and the sense of meaninglessness, disenchantment and distrust of authorities that pervade young people’s lives:

Reminiscent of Chinese authorities’ attitudes towards attempts to shed light on Tiananmen Square. The Guardian reports: The ruling from a judge prevented the docu-drama, which had been due to be broadcast at…

The previously discussed purple-uniformed brand police have hit the streets, and will fine or jail those who violate the specially-legislated “rights” of companies which are official Olympic sponsors. The Independent writes: Hundreds…

The few psychics I’ve visited here in New York have had disappointingly limited abilities, but this one seems pretty impressive. The Telegraph reports: Within weeks of the meeting, Linda Clappison started locking…

Is this what will become of the highway? The Guardian dissects the bizarre spectacle of sold-out bus tours of outer London’s very bland M25 motorway:

Long in tedium and inescapably circular, the M25 is not so much The Road to Hell, as Chris Rea once sang, but life itself. However, Britain’s least loved motorway was almost beneficent on Monday when viewed from the seats of the first sell-out coach tour of the 117-mile London orbital.

There were several coach tours of the M25 in the 1980s and perhaps it is no coincidence that the 2012 version has proved so popular. The M25 was opened by Margaret Thatcher in 1986 and will endure as a monument to her era far longer than wars or broken unions. A visible symbol of individualism and the triumph of the car, the motorway was widened by the Blair government, building on the Iron Lady’s legacy in every way.

South West England’s This Is Somerset profiles a local celebrity who hurls pieces of asparagus and gleans the future by interpreting how they land. Think of it as a terrible alternative to reading tea leaves:

A fortune teller who predicts the future using ASPARAGUS unveiled her top tips for 2012 – including two Royal pregnancies, the collapse of the Euro, and British glory at the Olympics. Mystic Jemima Packington, 56, claims to be the world’s only Asparamancer. She has made dozens of accurate predictions in recent years, including the demise of Gordon Brown, the credit crunch, and Oscar glory for British film The King’s Speech.